More families join forces against PKK's child abduction

3 more families join protest outside opposition party building in SE Turkey to save their kids from PKK terrorists

News Service09:22 September 12, 2019AA

Families protest PKK's child abduction in Diyarbakır

Photograph: Şükrü Gündüz

Three more families on Wednesday joined a sit-in protest in southeastern Turkey outside the provincial office of a Turkish opposition political party long accused by the government of having links to the PKK terror group.

The number of the families taking part in the protest has risen to 21 since a mother, Fevziye Cetinkaya, claimed her 17-year-old son had joined the ranks of the terror group through members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir province and started the protest on Sept. 3.

"When they took my daughter [Songul], she was 15 years old and since then I haven’t heard from her," said Fatma Akkus, one of the recently joined mothers.

According to Akkus, the PKK deceived her daughter 5 years ago and took her away.

"I watched the news about my daughter 's joining in the terror group on social media," Akkus said reiterating her support for the protesting mothers.

Grief-stricken family members whose children have been kidnapped by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terror group raised the Turkish flag, saying they don't recognize any other flags in the country. A total of 17 mothers have been staging a sit-in protest outside the provincial office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) -- long accused by the government of having links to the PKK terror group -- in Diyarbakır.

"I want to hear from my son anyway," Kahraman said adding that he is prepared for his son's demise.

"It tears my heart out. It's now 22 years and it's not easy,'' he said.

Halime Sehitoglu and Macide Uslu, two women relatives, also joined the protest for their nephews.

Uslu, referring to the HDP members of the parliament, said: "Their children travel around Europe while ours are abducted. If they want they can bring our children back."

Last month, another mother, Hacire Akar, staged a similar protest near the party's office. Her son returned home a few days later giving hope to a number of mothers who suffer the same circumstances.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.